title: Phosphorescent zinc sulfide is a nonradioactive alternative for marking autoradiograms.
abstract: Phosphorescent zinc sulfide is a nonradioactive alternative for making orientation and identification markings on autoradiograms. Measurements with a luminometer show that light emission is linear with respect to ZnS concentration. A minimum activation time of 5 s has been determined, using an incandescent lamp as a light source. Emission decay kinetics show light emissions reached background levels within minutes, depending on the ZnS concentration. This time period is sufficient for X-ray films to be permanently marked. Because of its efficiency and nontoxicity, this autoradiogram marker could be extremely useful in many protocols, including high-throughput radioactive DNA sequencing. This nonradioactive marker will also be useful in protocols utilizing nonradioactive detection systems, such as those calling for biotinylated and chemiluminescent probes.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91125.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Seto
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rohrabacher
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seto
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hood
mesh_terms: D001345:Autoradiography / Q000379:methods*; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000379:methods; D013440:Sulfides; D015032:Zinc; D017967:Zinc Compounds
chemical_list: D013440:Sulfides; D017967:Zinc Compounds; D015032:Zinc; C031238:zinc sulfide